WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Federal Communications Commission has started to examine how wireless 911 calls can be routed more efficiently to 911 call centers.
According to the FCC, they are hoping that by doing so will result in faster response times during emergencies.
The FCC is trying to figure this out because of the way that signals for emergency calls are coordinated through cell towers.
In some cases, residents on border lines of cities and states have had issues with calls not going to the jurisdiction they live in, but instead a neighboring jurisdiction.
“In a Notice of Inquiry adopted today, the Commission seeks comment on the extent of “misrouted” wireless 911 calls and approaches to avoid such delays, including the feasibility of routing 911 calls based on the location of the caller as opposed to the location of the cell tower that handles that call. The Commission noted that recent technological advances suggest that in many situations it is now possible to route 911 calls to the correct call center based on information about the caller’s location. Among other questions, the Notice of Inquiry invites comment on how the Commission can facilitate and promote location-based routing improvements. ”
It is not known when the FCC will make final changes, or how they will work to correct and-or improve wireless 911 call issues.
